BLESSED ARE THE MEEK

BLESSED ARE THE MEEK: FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:5

The earth here promised is not the literal field of clods, nor monarchies with built-up cities. In the language of the Messiah, "to inherit the earth" means to partake of the New Kingdom. The soldier who fights for the earthly earth needs to be fierce; but he who fights within himself for the conquest of the new earth and the new heaven must not abandon him­self to anger, the counselor of evil, nor to cruelty, the negation of love. The meek are those who endure close contact with evil men and with themselves—often harder to bear—who do not break out into brutish rage when things go badly, but conquer their inner enemies with that quiet perseverance which more than sudden sterile furies shows the force of the soul. They are like water which is not hard to the touch, which seems to give way before other substances, but slowly rises, silently attacks, and calmly consumes, with the patience of the years, the hardest granites.

Oxymoron-unaggressive conquerors The meek are those who are obedient to the rule of the King; meekness, is the submissive spirit, the spirit of true humility, which is unconscious of humility; the spirit that rejoices in the Kingdom already established, on account of the comfort already given, and waits for orders, and does not obtrude itself. Cf. Psa. 37.

            As we read these words, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," we seem to hear those other words, "Come unto Me . . . for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls." The men, poor in spirit, mourning over failure, comforted by the One great Comforter, are meek; and "they shall inherit the earth," for they have partaken of the very spirit of the King Himself.